Stronglifts 5x5 for Women

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SL & Cardio

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ZoeLifts
ZoeLifts Posts: 10,347 Member
in Social Groups
I was just wondering, are any of you also doing cardio with your SL routine? I would rather do only lifting because I despise cardio myself, but I am just curious to see what others are doing.
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  • jarrettd
    jarrettd Posts: 872 Member
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    I'm interested in the answer to this also.
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
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    Only when I get around do it. I'd like to drop some more fat. I'd probably actually do MORE cardio if I wasn't doing SL wiht my husband - I Don't mind settling in for 30 minutes on some cardio machine but he kind of feels like "RUN ON THE TREADMILL OR GTFO" so he pretty much does a mile or a mile and a half and then he's done and he wants to leave RIGHT NOW.

    I do try to walk a bit more often, like daily, for even 10-20 minutes.

    So probably my week looks like:

    Sunday: Long walk or possible short jog + some walking, or just some walking and housework.
    Monday: Lifting and might run a mile
    Tuesday: short walk or some dance central or else be lazy and just play world of warcraft
    Wed: total repeat of Tuesday
    Thursday Lifting and might run a mile
    Friday: Might run, might walk, might dance central, might go to The Playground and eat and drink way too much (that's this week's plan)
    Sat - Long walk or short jog + some walking or just some walking and housework.

    I don't quantify the walking really, I just think to myself "when was the last time you got up and moved around" and if the answer is yesterday (or longer) then I make sure I get up and move around a bit more (sometimes I even just stand at my desk for a little while)
  • valerieschram
    valerieschram Posts: 97 Member
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    I generally do light cardio after lifting (like recumbent bike, elliptical on moderate level, or walking). I do heavier cardio on non-lifting days (long runs, interval running, intense elliptical). Altogether, about 6 days of cardio a week. I just enjoy food and drink a little too much and like to have the extra exercise calories from cardio!
  • kazzari
    kazzari Posts: 473 Member
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    Nope...no extra cardio. I might go cycling or for a hike or a run on the weekend, but no regular scheduled deliberate cardio, except the heart pounding I get from lifting heavy weights. It is not endurance, but it still counts as cardio. I abhor indoor cardio machines and avoid them unless I'm following a very specific program that includes HIIT and it's too cold outside to run.
  • chubby_checkers
    chubby_checkers Posts: 2,353 Member
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    I generally do light cardio after lifting (like recumbent bike, elliptical on moderate level, or walking). I do heavier cardio on non-lifting days (long runs, interval running, intense elliptical). Altogether, about 6 days of cardio a week. I just enjoy food and drink a little too much and like to have the extra exercise calories from cardio!

    This for me too. Only I usually go 5 days instead of 6.
  • Nataliaho
    Nataliaho Posts: 878 Member
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    I don't do traditional steady state cardio, but I do Crossfit aswell as Powerlifting, so that involves a lot of intense interval type cardio.
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
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    I was just talking to hubs about doing more cardio. I already go figure skating once a week. I was thinking about adding another day or two of some kind of cardio. Hubs wants to keep lifting 3 days a week. I just cannot imagine trying to do cardio on lifting days. I don't want to be tired for lifting, but there is no way I'm doing cardio after lifting. I am just spent.

    So the plan is keep lifting 3x a week, skating once a week, and adding an hour walk on another day, maybe Wed or Sat, depending on schedule.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    I was just doing 30min steady state 2-3 times a week (either after lifting or on off days). Right now I'm trying to get in shape for mountain biking so I do at least one 1.5-2 hour bike ride, and high-ish intensity cardio for 30-45 minutes 2-3 days a week. I've also scaled back on my lifting progression though.
  • ishtar13
    ishtar13 Posts: 528 Member
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    On non-lifting days, I try to walk or swim for 30 mins or so.

    At the beginning of the program, I would sometimes do 20 mins or so after lifting, but once lifting started to get difficult, I stopped that.
  • ZoeLifts
    ZoeLifts Posts: 10,347 Member
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    Well, that gives me something to think about. I am only doing lifting, though I wouldn't mind swimming every now and again because I like to. I just don't know about setting a routine just yet.
  • shesquats
    shesquats Posts: 91 Member
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    I do the bike for 15 mins as a warm up before SLs, which I do M, W,F. On Tues, Th, I do zumba or kickboxing for an hr. On Sat it's a bootcamp class which is HIIT, strength & cardio. Sun is my day off.
  • pinkita
    pinkita Posts: 779 Member
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    I stopped cardio months ago because it made me hungry all the time... I was doing too much. But now, especially with the warmer weather, I miss going for walks/bike rides. So I want to walk/ride 2x/week, but no more than 30 mins.
  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
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    I have been doing 20 minutes of cardio after lifting, 1 mile run on the treadmill and 10 minutes on the stairclimber, and on days off from lifting I run 4 miles or so, 3 days per week. I didnt start SL off doing this, I was primarily just lifting, but I need to lose some weight and just lifting wasnt cutting it....
  • brismom070897
    brismom070897 Posts: 178 Member
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    bump
  • gemiwing
    gemiwing Posts: 1,525 Member
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    I do cardio for fun. So soccer in the park, walking to the store on a nice day, walking trails etc. No 'go for the burn' cardio. It's not pertinent to my goals so why do it?

    I do like treadmills but don't have one so meh- till then I'm not really worried about it.
  • juliebeannn
    juliebeannn Posts: 428 Member
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    i do zumba twice a week just cuz its fun and i pretty much co-teach those classes with a friend. i also do boot camp class twice a week. i used to go to boot camp 3-4 times a week but i've replace a lot of the boot camp with lifting. i'm locked in for a year at my boot camp, gotta still go like twice a week to make the $$ worth it. hahaha.

    so my usual week involves, 2x zumba, 2x boot camp. 3x stronglifts
  • miovlb6
    miovlb6 Posts: 339 Member
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    I can't stand indoor cardio machines for more than about 10-20 minutes, but I run outdoors 3 times a week (from 4-10 miles/day) and I do CrossFit 2 or 3 times a week. I'm doing SL twice a week for now and I try to do yoga or Pilates on those days. I take 1 full rest day/week, but I really like to eat, so I enjoy having the extra wiggle room that I get from doing cardio.
  • eilar
    eilar Posts: 23 Member
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    I do Zumba ~ 3x a week (TWR evenings) and SL (MWF mornings). But I started SL recently, whereas I've been doing Zumba on that schedule for about three months. So far so good though! On Wednesdays I need my buddies to persuade me to actually get my butt to Zumba though...
  • RunningDirty
    RunningDirty Posts: 293
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    I run, but have cut back a bit since I'm now lifting in more of a circuit environment 4x per week and it's definitely more cardio than when I was just doing SL. When I do SL I do a cardio warmup (row machine) and maybe the bike afterwards or elliptical depending on how my legs feel.
  • eilar
    eilar Posts: 23 Member
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    Oh yeah, I guess during the SL gym period, I'll do like 10 minutes of running on the elliptical at some resistance level that's resistey but doesn't impede running? To get the heart pumping. And I'll usually do somewhere between 1-3 sets of warmup exercises while ramping the weight up to that day's amt.

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